Curt Schilling Will (Most Likely) Pitch No More Forever

Is this the end for our bloody-hosed hero? With his announcement this morning that he will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, Curt Schilling has most likely also announced his de facto retirement. He discclosed his plans on WEEI's Dennis and Callahan show, and the Boston Globe is confirming it: No Schilling in 2008, and the soonest he might be back is the All-Star break in 2009, and then most likely not with the Red Sox. Or at all.

"I don't want it to end this way, but if this is the way it has to end, I'm OK with that," Schilling said. "If it's over and my last pitch was in the 2007 World Series, I'm OK with that. I just can't stress enough where I am mentally with this. I have not a regret in the world. ... None of this makes me bitter or angry or pissed. It is what it is. In that sense, honestly, it's very, very easy for me because of what I've been able to experience compared to what I wanted when I first started my career, but if I have some say in how this is gonna end, I want it to be different than what it is right now."

This means that, best-case scenario, he'd be 43 by the time he came back; and it's hard to imagine that he'd want that. Curt Schilling is not Randy Johnson or Roger Clemens; the old guy who ekes out eight wins just for the chance to win another ring. Regardless of how you feel about Schilling as a person, there's no denying his credentials as a competitor. Without him Drew Barrymore does not sprint onto the field to celebrate that Red Sox 2004 World Series title. And like it or not, the bloody sock from Game 6 of the ALCS that year will never be forgotten. I wonder, did he ever launder that thing? Knowing him: Nope.

Today We Honor All Middle-Aged Slightly Tubby Guys ... And Tiger Of Course

You know, you have to feel for Rocco Mediate. The guy staves off Tiger Woods all day, the best player in the world on his tail, a 46-year-old man playing the tournament of his life, and his reward is to go 18 more holes tomorrow against the guy. The goal should be survival at this point.

Still, we found it fitting, on Father's Day, that the U.S. Open champion was almost a middle-aged guy with a gut. This is honestly the most we've ever watched of a golf tournament — heck, we even played golf this weekend, though perhaps "play" is the wrong word — and, all told, it's kind of nice that a guy with three sons, and a guy who just had one, ended up tied.

We think our favorite Woods moment today was when, after messing up his bunker shot on the 18th hole, almost costing himself a chance to tie Mediate, he threw his club. It's nice to see superhumans, on occasion, feel the same pain the rest of the planet feels. And still: We were certain that last putt was going to fall. It seems obvious in retrospect.

Anyway, yeah: We're all golfy today. And we get one more tomorrow. Happy Father's Day.

Victor's Elbow, Barfield's Finger...The Latest in this Round of Injuries for the Indians

While the pitching staff has had its share of injuries as of late, now the injury bug has spread to more position players - including catcher Victor Martinez. The Tribe’s catcher is set to have an MRI today for inflammation in his right elbow. Victor is already suffering from a tweaked hamstring that he suffered way back on opening day vs the White Sox at Progressive Field.

There was plenty of discussion with GM Mark Shapiro and Wedge Wednesday about the thought of putting Martinez on the DL, and while both said it wouldn’t happen, now the elbow may force the issue.

Wedge told the media postgame on Wednesday that the elbow pain is something that Martinez has been playing through for sometime. It has become more obvious that it’s also a reason why he is having an off season at the plate, hitting .278 with no homers and 21 RBI. If there is one thing about Martinez, it’s that he’s a hitter, and now more than ever the team should explore putting him on the DL and giving him a rest to see if he can come back and be his old self again.

Another position player that may find himself on the DL is second basemen Josh Barfield, who has a sprained finger. It took place on a check-swing Tuesday night that forced him to leave the game. Wedge said that its not all that uncommon of an injury, as when you check-swing your fingers continue to move forward, causing the sprain. Barfield will get looked at again today, and he may be headed for a trip to the DL.

Asked if that means Asdrubal Cabrera will find himself back on the MLB roster if Barfield is put on the DL, Wedge said that does not appear to be the case, but declined to reveal who would be brought up in his place. It would likely open the door to see more of Jamey Carroll at second base until Barfield is ready to play.

Kelly Pavlik, the Face of American Boxing

If Floyd Mayweather, Jr., is really done with boxing, and with Oscar de la Hoya on the final road of his long journey, American boxing is going to need a new headliner. There isn't a whole lot to choose from. Puerto Rico, Mexico, the Philippines, the former Soviet Union countries, etc. -- those are the nations dominating professional boxing. It'll most likely stay that way, too. And that's fine by me, I don't really care where anyone's from as long as they can fight.

But promoters and TV people and even some fans need that American boy to root for. Who better than Kelly Pavlik? What fighter better embodies the "American dream" than the humble, hard-punching, workman-like dude from the fallen midwestern steel town? (By the way, I'm as sick of hearing about the ailings of Youngstown as anyone else is, and I'm sure Pavlik is, too. Not that he's not proud of where he comes from, but you'd think it's the worst city on earth.)

Not only is Pavlik a good story, though, he's an exciting, dynamic fighter that is guaranteed good TV. He's not had a ton of television exposure, but I've never seen a Pavlik fight live that was a bore. His wins over Lenord Pierre (Vs.), Zertuche, Miranda, Taylor (HBO and PPV) and now Lockett have all been good watchin'.

He's charismatic. He's humble. He's a gracious winner. He's a knockout puncher. There isn't a whole lot more you need than what Pavlik has. He's got Top Rank behind him. Hell, he even has an interesting, loudmouth trainer to speak up and create some sparks before the fights when Kelly doesn't want to take it too far.

Honestly, even if Mayweather returns or Oscar decides to fight another three years, you're looking at the new face of American boxing. I think a lot of people are happy to welcome him as such. 100% fighter, 0% bulls--t.

Cedric Benson Arrested Again

Maybe rookie Matt Forte has been looking so impressive that Benson just decided to throw the towel in. Maybe rookie Matt Forte has looked so unimpressive that Benson thought his job was a lock, regardless the reason Bears running back Cedric Benson is back in the news.

Benson was arrested and charged with a DWI early Saturday morning. This obviously is not going to help him clear his name from his arrest early last month.

The Bears have pretty much done everything they can for him. They drafted him with the #4 pick. They traded an at the time better running back, Thomas Jones, so Benson could become the Bears franchise RB. Following a poor previous season and a rough off season the Bears still gave Benson the number #1 spot.

"Disappointment is too much an often-used word when we're talking about Cedric, and the number one lesson for every player is protect your job," Angelo said. "So we're all held accountable for our actions."

Asked if the new arrest will weigh against Benson, Angelo said: "Well, it doesn't weigh very well. And it's unfortunate. We will deal with it when we know everything."

At this point the Bears have to take action. It will come across as hypocritical to release Tank Johnson and not deal with Cedric Benson. Obviously, the two cases are not exactly the same, but if you are going to take a stance on off the field problems you have to across the board.
At the very least the Bears have to put more time in with Matt Forte to see if he can take over the job. If he can it will make it much easier to let Benson go, so somebody can pick him up, I assume Oakland or Dallas, because..well... they do that type of stuff.

This is just one more thing to highlight a horrible off season the Bears have been having.

Evander Holyfield Would Appreciate it if You Would Pick Up the Check

So Evander Holyfield is broke. His $10 million house (featuring 17 bathrooms and a bowling alley) is in foreclosure, he's behind in child support payments, and things are generally looking bleak. And people, it's your fault. You just aren't buying enough Real Deal Grills! Why not? Dual temperature controls, 1800 watts of power, adjustable floating hinges so you can cook on two sides at once ... it's like having an entire restaurant in your house! I have no idea how a man with his own grill could be so in arrears. I'll never understand boxing.

A legal notice that ran Wednesday in a small local newspaper said Holyfield’s estate will be auctioned off “at public outcry to the highest bidder for cash” at the Fayette County courthouse on July 1. The 54,000-square-foot home — located on Evander Holyfield Highway — has 109 rooms, including 17 bathrooms, three kitchens and a bowling alley. Meanwhile, Holyfield’s handlers allegedly told the mother of one of his children that he will no longer be able to make his $3,000-a-month support payment. Toi Irvin claims the boxer has already missed two payments, so she has gone to court seeking restitution.

What is it about being a great boxer that automatically makes you bad with money? Here's one problem Joe Louis never had, however: On top of all his other woes, Holyfield reportedly owes $500,000 for landscaping.

Kenny Mayne Offers His Own Erudite, Glib Belmont Prognostications

ESPN luminary and horsey specialist (and author!) Kenny Mayne took some of his precious, precious time to offer these salient insights to the readers of Deadspin who might be considering throwing a friendly wager or two on tomorrow's Belmont Stakes.

I think Big Brown will win by many lengths. Children should not take money from their mother's purse to bet on the race....but for those who do play it, the way to win money is to bet "horizontally" This means you need to figure out who is going to win races ahead of the Belmont and get lucky with a 40-1 shot as part of the Pick Three capped by Big Brown's win in the Belmont.

I heard the Japanese horse, Casino Drive, might not run. He's Japanese in the same way I am Japanese for having eaten at Maeda Sushi in Simsbury, CT last week. He's from Kentucky. Check the wires to see if he is in or out.I like Denis of Cork to run 2nd to Big Brown.

Mayne also had this to say about controversial BB trainer Rick Dutrow, who is rubbing all equine enthusiasts the wrong way:

It's not like Dutrow calls for press conferences and reads from a scroll. He is just answering questions. People stand around for two hours and pepper him with questions and since he doesn't have much of a filter, you're going to hear him say some things other trainers don't usually say. Things like, "My horse is going to win."

Kobe Carries Lakers to a Record 29th NBA Final

The Lakers celebrated the Western Conference championship before their adoring fans at Staples Center, but not too hard.They’ve got one more goal to reach before the real excitement begins.

Kobe Bryant scored 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers rallied from an early 17-point deficit to beat the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 100-92 on Thursday night and win the conference finals in five games.

They get a week off before opening the NBA finals next Thursday night at Boston or Detroit. The Celtics lead the Eastern Conference finals 3-2 with Game 6 on Friday night in Detroit.
“I think it is a tremendous accomplishment,” Bryant said. “I think the West is extremely tough. We’re all extremely excited and proud about it. Now, it’s time to go on and see if we can’t finish it off.”

The Lakers are 12-3 in the playoffs, including 8-0 at Staples Center, where they haven’t lost in two months. They have won 14 straight home games and 21 of their last 24 postseason games at home.

“My heart’s still pumping, that adrenaline is still running from the game,” said Lamar Odom, who had 13 points and eight rebounds. “Maybe when I sit down and have something to eat, I’ll realize what just happened.

“We came out here, played our game, and won. It’s satisfying, but one more step.”
A basket by Odom gave the Lakers an 83-76 lead with 5:40 remaining, but a 3-pointer by Brent Barry and a basket by Tony Parker drew the Spurs within two points. Manu Ginobili missed a 3-pointer that could have given San Antonio the lead before Bryant’s jumper with 3:33 to play made it 85-81.

A foul shot by Tim Duncan drew the Spurs within three, but two more baskets by Bryant made it 89-82 with 1:47 to play, and the Spurs weren’t closer than five points after that.
Pau Gasol had 12 points, a career playoff-high 19 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots and backup guards Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar added nine and eight points, respectively.
Parker scored 23 points and Duncan had 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for the Spurs. Michael Finley scored 13 points, Barry and Kurt Thomas added 11 each and Ginobili was held to nine, shooting just 3-for-9.

“Just got to gear it up again to go to next year,” Duncan said. “Love what we had this year. We just weren’t good enough through stretches.”

Former Lakers star and executive Jerry West presented the Lakers the Western Conference championship trophy on the court following the game. By that time, the players were all wearing T-shirts and caps denoting their championship status.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson has won nine championships, tied for the NBA record with former Boston coach Red Auerbach.

“I like not to get involved personally in this and think of this as a team effort,” he said regarding what playing in the NBA Finals means to him. “As much as I appreciate the league trying to emphasize the Western Conference trophy, that doesn’t mean too much when that big prize is still out there.

“We look at both those opponents (Boston and Detroit) with a great deal of respect and know that we have a great, great hill to climb to be able to finish in the Finals and win.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich pointed to his team’s offense — and the Lakers’ defense — as the keys to the series.

“I thought we did a fine job,” he said. “We just didn’t muster the offense, for a variety of reasons. The fact that we didn’t come through offensively is a disappointment, but part of that is a credit to the Lakers.

“(The Spurs) just played a team that was better. That’s why the Lakers won. The better team won. You get a seven-game series, you win four games, you’re the best team.”

The Lakers clinched their berth in the finals a year to the day after Bryant called the team’s front office “a mess” during a radio interview. A day later, he demanded a trade, ultimately saying he preferred playing on Pluto rather than returning to the team he joined as an 18-year-old in 1996.

The situation calmed down until Lakers owner Jerry Buss told reporters during training camp in October he was listening to offers for Bryant, angering the superstar once again.
But once the season began, Bryant bonded with his teammates, led the Lakers to the No. 1 seed in the rugged West and won his first MVP award.

“Once the season started, I didn’t think about a trade or anything like that,” Bryant said. “I just buckled down into what I needed to do to get this team to play our best basketball. That’s what we did.”

The Lakers will be playing in the finals for the 23rd time since moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1961 and the 29th time overall. They have won 14 championships — nine in Los Angeles and five in Minneapolis.